As most of you heard last night, Chuck Daly, who led the original Bad Boys to two NBA titles in 1989 and 1990 as well as the Dream Team to Olympic gold in 1992, has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. From Chris McCosky of the Detroit News:
"Chuck is being treated for the cancer and the family is requesting privacy," Pistons vice president of media relations Matt Dobek said, speaking on behalf of the Daly family. "When he was coaching, Chuck was always known as the Prince of Pessimism; right now, Chuck Daly is the King of Optimism."
[...] "He's battling something that obviously is a challenge," Pistons athletic trainer Mike Abdenour said. "But if there is one guy who can battle this whole thing, it'll be Chuck Daly. He's always been a fighter, whether it was on our bench or wherever he was.
"He's going to fight this, no question. He will handle this with grace and dignity and fight it to the nth degree."
Former Bad Boy Rick Mahorn, now a Shock assistant coach and radio analyst, played six seasons for Daly. He spoke to him two days ago.
"He seemed to be in great spirits," Mahorn said. "But what can you say to a person who's in that situation? I told him he was a fighter and to keep on fighting and that I'm there to help in any way I can.
"I told him that he has always been in my prayers, and not just because of what he's going through. He's been in my prayers because of what he's meant to me. He's always been a father figure to all of us."
Pistons president Joe Dumars echoed that: "My thoughts and prayers go out to Chuck and his family following today's tough news. He holds a special place in our hearts and we'll be here to support him in any way we can."
I'll have more thoughts at some point this weekend, but I think I speak for the entire DBB community when I say our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.